Mind's Respite
by PreciousBunny
Summary: Sequel to Moment's Reprieve. Basically a story of Kai and Ellie, and how both are handling everything or... not handling everything. KaiOC
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I am attempting a sequel. Due to the fact that I, and some of you, did not like the ending. Which is fine. Because, seriously, I hated the ending.

Disclaimer: For this and future chapters: I do not own beyblade. I never will. I do not own any of the Beyblade characters.  
I do have Ellie, Sorin and Rica, and any other "crew" that is not a part of Beyblade. But that is it. Ah, and basic story-line, but I think my mind has rights to that...

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Ch 1

Rei was standing in the kitchen, an apron around his waist, as he was cooking for himself and a few friends, who would be coming over in a few hours. He was merely preparing everything at the moment, and, knowing that some of it would take a while to prepare, he had started early.

The door banged open, and Mariah came walking in, almost calmly.

"Hey, Rei." She said, hopping up to sit on the counter.

Rei smiled softly at her, and continued to prepare for the meal, slicing a few mushrooms.

Mariah watched him for a moment, and then she looked away, nonchalantly saying, "There's someone outside of the village who is looking for you."

Rei gave her a confused look, "Why outside of the village?"

Mariah shrugged. "She refused to come into the village." She slid off the counter and headed towards the door. "Should I tell her to go away?" She asked softly, watching him.

"Ah, no, I'm coming…" He said frowning, and untying his apron. A few minutes out in the air would not hurt the current ingredients, so he decided to just leave them there on the counter.

He frowned as he folded up the apron and set it aside. He followed Mariah as she walked around the village, finally leading him to the outskirts. She spoke the whole time, and Rei listened quietly, but was confused and mostly focused on the visitor.

"Alright. Here she is." Mariah said suddenly, pointing to a girl who was not looking at them, but outward into the trees.

They both walked up, and the girl, apparently hearing them approach, whipped around to face them.

Rei just stared at her for a moment- this was no girl, she was a woman grown. Her brown hair was down to her lower rib cage, but held in a lose ponytail at the back of her neck. Her face was pale.

Rei was struggling, he knew this person. He knew who she could not be. Three elongated violet triangles on her forehead were the same color as her vibrant violet eyes.

"Rei." She said softly, and he saw the fangs that served for canines.

"Ellie?" Rei said, looking very confused, and feeling just as confused.

"I know it's been awhile, I was hoping you would remember me." Ellie paused, and her hands tensed on the black pants she wore. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I have been looking for you…" Though she was speaking to Rei, she watched Mariah closely, "Not like… that. I mean… I'm… he's not my type." Ellie said softly, then she shook her head. "Oh, I… my name is Angeline Croix. Call me Ellie. He does…" She frowned. She was feeling very awkward here, so close to these people, and it was very obvious to both of the neko-jins.

"Mariah." Said the other girl, looking extremely confused. "And what…?"

"Ah… my body language skills… you feel threatened by my presence around Rei, but I'm not looking for _him_… just wondering if he can help me." Ellie said, then looked back to Rei. Every word came out slowly, as if she were having trouble with the language.

"Why don't you come into the village?" Rei asked.

Ellie gave a small smile, "A wolf, amongst cats, I don't think…" She trailed off, shaking her head slightly again. "Look. I would love to catch up and all, but I was wondering…" She bit her lip, and her hands fisted on the black jeans she wore. "Kai… I can't find him… and…" Something flashed across her face, too rapidly for either of the neko-jins to read.

"Ellie… I…" Rei shook his head sadly. "It's been three years since you… since all of that. And though Tala was keeping me informed… even he lost track of Kai somewhere along the way. I don't know where he is." Rei looked at her apologetically.

"I…" Ellie looked away. "I understand."

"Ellie, I'm sorry, I just…" Rei said, reaching out to her.

She jerked back, "No, is fine. I understand." She pulled something out of her pocket, still not looking at either cat. "This is for you, Rei." She held it out to him, and he took it. "Thanks for your help." She replied sincerely and with a small smile, her words still spoken with a delicate kind of control. "It was nice meeting you Mariah, and nice seeing you again, Rei." She gave a small smile and disappeared into the forest before either of them could say anything more.

"Strange girl." Mariah said, frowning at the place Ellie had been.

"She did not used to be." Rei paused, "Well, she was but not like that." He looked at the letter in his hand, then opened it with one quick motion. He read it quickly. "I think I should go to this." He said softly, looking at the plane tickets as well.

"What is it?" Mariah asked, peering over his shoulder at the note.

"A meeting, between the BladeBreakers and Mr. Dickenson. It is at a formal event he is hosting." Rei said softly. He glanced up at where Ellie had disappeared into the forest. "I only hope we can all be there."

-o-o-o-

Five days after Ellie had mysteriously appeared in China, Rei had a lay over in Russia. It had been only about a half-hour, and his plane was not scheduled to take off for another hour. He had known already, so he had brought a few books with him to read.

He had just settled himself into the chair after getting some airport food, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Rei." He looked up, surprised to find a red-haired Russian looking at him, frozen in place.

Rei stood up, looked at his book, set it down without marking his place, and then looked back at Tala. "Hey." Rei said, giving him a smile.

Tala walked over to him, looked around, and then put his bags down beside an unoccupied chair. "So, Rei, what are you doing in Russia?"

"Eh, I had a lay over." He smiled quietly, "I did not set up the tickets for me; I _think_ Mr. Dickenson did."

Tala nodded, "The formal event?" He asked, looking at Rei's book and noticing it was in Russian. "Take up Russian recently?"

"Yes… and no to the second. Ellie had taught me some when… we were here last." Rei said lightly, uncertain of whether he knew Ellie was alive or not.

"Remarkable girl." He said with a nod. "Annoying, broke Kai's heart. But you already know that." Tala looked out the window as one of the planes took off. "I saw her about a year ago. She was looking for Kai." His sharp gaze met Rei's eyes. "Did she find you?" His voice was hard, but not unkind.

"Yes, actually. She handed me a card…" He began.

"Which was inviting you to a formal event." Tala finished. He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "I have one too, it was sent to my home. Of course, mine suggested that I tell Kai if I could find him." He gave a sigh and looked out the window again. "I haven't seen him in about a year and a half."

"Which is when you quit keeping me updated." Rei responded thoughtfully.

Tala nodded quietly. He was out in his thoughts for a moment. "I am supposing you are riding the same flight as me?" He said suddenly, still not looking at Rei. "Flight straight to New York."

Rei nodded, "Yeah." His voice was quiet, as he was also in thought.

Tala was the first to sit, and Rei followed his lead. "You know, Kai was mad at me when we got back to Russia." Tala put his elbows on his knees and put his chin on his hands. "He hated me at that point. Told me I should be glad. That I had won. She wasn't around anymore." His eyes were glazed over, deep in memory. "I may be harsh, but I'm not heartless, at least not completely." A smirk touched Tala's face as his eyes flicked over to Rei, the smirk disappeared almost as quickly as it came, "I never meant for him to get hurt. And that was not exactly what I meant." He looked worried. "I don't know where Kai is. I have no idea. Last time I saw him was a bar in Russia, and then he was gone." Tala sat up straight and shook his head, looking out the window again. He gave a rueful smile. "Ah well, I can't do anything about it now."

Tala leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, as if the conversation had exhausted him.

"No, you really can't." Rei replied softly, picking up his book and reading it again.

-o-o-o-

Tala and Rei walked together, not talking, to the room the hotel personnel had told them was theirs. They had found the floor easy enough, but the halls wound this way and that, and each corner looked the same as the last.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of searching, they found the room. The door was hanging open, and voices were coming from inside of it.

Rei walked in first, only to be spotted by Max, who ran up and hugged him.

"Rei! It's been… Ack!" He got hit in the head by a pillow from the adjoining room. "Tyson! That's not fair!" Max called, laughing, into the other room. "Rei is here!" Max looked over Rei's shoulder. "Oh… and so is Tala." This was said with much less enthusiasm, but there was still the extreme friendliness that always accompanied Max.

"What?" Tyson shouted, sliding into the room, nearly sliding right into Rei, who stepped out of the way just in time. Tyson stopped himself before he hit the end table beside the door. "Oh! Hey, Rei!" He gave a huge grin.

"Hi guys." Rei said, smiling at them. Then the four stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. "Uh… I think I'm going to go put this in a room…" Rei said, taking his bags and walking past Max and Tyson, headed for the living room. Tala followed without any show of emotion.

Rei set himself up in one of the unoccupied rooms and Tala took the other.

Rei had been a little disheartened to discover that there were only five bedrooms. Obviously Max and Tyson had two, Tala and himself had two, which left one. He figured it would be Kenny's, whenever he appeared.

"Alright! It's Chief!" Came Tyson's shout from out in the living room, which was an affirmation for Rei.

He wondered about Ellie and Kai. Was she even invited? Probably, since she had handed him an invitation.

But would Kai even know about it, and if he did, did he plan on showing up?

Not that either was particularly a worrisome question, it was just that he remembered how Kai had acted around Ellie, how easy it was to tell that he cared about her. He remembered Ellie telling Kai that she loved him, remembered the tears running down her otherwise emotionless face as they were taken away and she was left there. He remembered Kai as they were on the plane, silent and still as stone. Remembered how Tala and Kai had just left with no note or warning.

Rei sat down on his bed. He wanted to feel happy, and to some extent, seeing his friends again, and even Tala, made him happy. But part of him ached to think of Kai and Ellie.

He shook his head, tapped into the happy part of him, and went out to greet Kenny with a broad smile.

-o-o-o-

A week later and they were all sitting in Mr. Dickenson's office. Even Tala. Everybody except Kai and Ellie, who were still not there.

"Hello." Mr. Dickenson said with a huge smile on his chubby face. He sat behind his desk and looked at each of them in turn. "Well, it has been a long time hasn't it?" He said scooting up towards his desk and peering down at papers laying there. He did not wait for a reply. "Doubtless, Miss Angeline- Ellie- has gotten in touch with all of you at one point or another." He looked up briefly. "She may have handed some of you a letter telling you about this event that I am hosting. It will require that you wear formal clothing. No tee shirts and jeans." He looked kindly at Tyson.

Tyson frowned but said nothing for once.

"This has been at the request of the person-of-honor, so do not blame me. Though, I did whole heartedly agree." He smiled. "You may be wondering who this person is, but at the moment, I am not allowed to tell you, as per the person's request. Neither name nor gender am I allowed to tell." He picked up a few papers and looked them over. "I am merely the host of the party. It will not be huge, but decently large. There are certain people who will be there who have agreed to sponsor it. It will be a dinner and some dancing, though I don't think you are required to dance." He gave another broad grin.

"Mr. Dickenson… there is someone here to see you." His secretary said from the doorway, looking at the boys quietly.

"Ah… yes… If you will excuse me, I guess that covers all of it for now. You may leave." He smiled softly at the group, and just as they all had reached the door, he said, "By chance… have any of you been able to get in touch with Kai?"

-o-o-o-

"So none of you have seen Kai in… the last three years?" Tala asked blankly, looking out the window of the cab they were driving in.

"No." Was the chorused reply.

"But we've all seen Ellie?" Rei asked, trying to figure everything out in his mind. Tala's harsh gaze flicked over to him, and Rei saw the warning there.

"Yes." Came from everyone.

"Did… anyone else think she was acting strangely?" Rei asked, Tala giving him another dangerous look. Max looked at Rei, concentration evident on his face.

"Yes…" He finally said. "She seemed more agitated, not angry, just… worried. The whole time I was speaking with her… for about an hour."

There was mumbled agreement from Kenny, and even Tyson.

Tala was glaring at Rei. The Russian thought this line of questions, this thought pattern, was unnecessary. He did not want Ellie discussed, he did not want to think about her at all.

Every time he did, he saw her as the last time he had seen her, a year ago. Even now, the picture was brought to his mind unbidden.

_Ellie, hair matted and face bruised, standing at the door, unsmiling, her eyes haunted. Her clothing was covered in blood and torn in places. There were evident scratches on her sides and legs, where there were also holes in her clothing._

_She did not say anything at first, just stood there, staring at him with violet eyes._

_"Ellie…" Was all he could bring himself to say at first. Then, "Why don't you…? Ellie, come in and get cleaned up." He had not wanted to say that, but in the interest of Kai, he would. It was not that he hated the girl- it was that he thought Ellie was no match for Kai._

_Ellie's body shook, he had noticed. It was a slight shiver that would not leave._

_She opened her mouth, and he noticed one of her canine teeth had been chipped, the entire bottom half of it was gone. "Kai…?_

_"Ellie, come in." Tala insisted._

_"Kai…? Just… where?" Her Russian was broken, and he could tell by the broken haunted look in her eyes that so was she._

_"Ellie…" He had been about to suggest that she come in again, when he could not take it anymore. "I don't know where Kai is…" He had frowned at her, then reached out to take her arm and pull her inside._

_"No!" She snarled out, eyes flashing and baring her teeth. She jerked away from him._

_Howling sounded far away. Her head snapped to the side, listening intently._

_She looked at Tala one last time, and then bolted._

_The last thing he saw was her eyes, violet orbs of terror, all of their harshness washed away, and in its place a very haunted girl._

Tala shook his head, trying to clear his mind from the memory. He knew she was not the same person she had been three years ago. He had hoped she was not the same person she was when she came to him a year ago, but from what little the others had said, and what Rei had told him, his hope was dashed.

He now only wondered what Kai would think of her.

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Please forgive if it seems a bit choppy-- it seems the only way to bring it all together at this point in time. How the story needs to be written does not allow me to write it from 1st Person POV, so it needs to jump a bit. If it is choppy... I hope it is not choppy enough to disuade one from reading. -Kitty


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Most of the time, Max and Tyson would disappear into the city by themselves and Kenny spent most of his time on the computer. Rei found himself frequently sitting in the quiet company of the red-haired Russian, either looking through a Russian novel or fingering through the American newspapers on the coffee table.

He felt a little out of place, as he had gotten used to hanging out with Mariah and Lee and the others while at home. It had really been three years since he had been around Tyson and Max and Kenny… so it was not just Kai's life he had missed out on.

As he sat, yet again with Tala in a nearby chair, he realized just how much he had missed the Blade Breakers. He was thinking this over when the phone rang. Tala jumped out of the chair to answer it.

Rei paid no attention, and had just started to reach for the remote to the tv, when he heard the phone set down and Tala returned, dropping into the chair he had previously occupied. Rei looked up, hand still paused in mid-air over the remote.

Tala stared blankly ahead for a moment, his elbows on his knees and his hands together in front of his mouth, but not actually touching his face.

"That was Bryan." Tala said slowly, blue eyes still staring straight ahead. Rei waited patiently. "He's seen activity on Kai's accounts…" He trailed off and his eyes flicked to meet Rei's eyes. "He's bought a plane ticket to New York."

No expression crossed either face for a long time.

Rei brought his arm back, to rest it lightly in his lap. He spoke with a measured voice. "Are you sure?"

Tala did not reply at first, then said softly, "Unless someone has gotten a hold of his accounts…" He blinked kind of slowly. "Yeah… I'm sure…"

-o-o-o-o-

Mr. Dickenson stood waiting outside for the boys- now adults- who had once made up his team. He had failed at contacting Kai, and he knew from Ellie that she had been less than successful as well. He could only currently hope that someone had been able to contact him.

A chill wind blew, so he pulled his coat tighter around himself as the next car pulled up. He put a smile on his face and waited as the driver got out and opened the back door.

"Ah, Kenny, Max." His smile grew true as he saw the boys- men. "Tyson, Rei. Tala." He nodded, pleased as they all had come from the car. "How are you all? Well I hope." He looked at each one, knowing they should get inside before the temperature dropped any lower. It was mid September and it had shown to be a very cold night, though it was only 8 pm, which meant only that it would continue to get colder. Though perhaps the best night for it had been chosen.

"We are well, Mr. Dickenson." Kenny said, smiling, polite as always.

"We should go inside." Mr. Dickenson replied with another broad grin, leading the way toward the door without a look back. He was relieved, once he had gotten inside, for it was warm inside, though not hot. "Please feel free to sit at the table, dinner will begin in a few minutes. Though also, you may leave your coats here." He gestured lightly at the butler-type people standing beside the door.

"Dinner?" Tyson asked, his eyes growing pleased with the thought, though he pulled at his tie as if uncomfortable.

"Yes," the elderly gentleman replied with a knowing smile, "though I should say, your company is requested at the landing at the top of the stairs at exactly 9 pm. You may return to the table after that if you are still not satisfied."

Tyson took off at this, followed more slowly by a laughing Max.

"Same old Tyson." Rei said with a grin, following Chief as he walked towards the table. Tala kept pace with Rei, never saying a word.

Mr. Dickenson smiled to himself momentarily, then allowed his smile to fade. He was concerned about Kai, though he would not admit it to the others. He watched them sit down, but found he could not join them at the moment, not that he would not have liked to.

He walked towards the stairs, taking them now instead of an hour from now. He would join the old team later, and he would eat much later, if he needed to. For now, he watched the gathered guests, most of them beybladers from various places in the United States. He had a few other new bladers around, but mostly, this was the cover. It was necessary for what was going on.

He made his way carefully to the top of the steps, where a younger man waited, standing in the shadows.

"Sorin…" Mr. Dickenson greeted, not as kindly spoken as he had been with his once-team. "All is well?"

"Yes. As well as can be expected." The younger man, Sorin, was not so young, but 21 now, since a few weeks ago. His violet eyes watched the people on the floor beneath, all eating at a long table, about 50 people in the banquet hall in total. He wore a long shirt, white and tied close at the waist, over a pair of white jeans. Both were meticulously clean. His brown hair was wild on the other hand, bangs sticking this way and that, though it was not totally unkempt in appearance.

He gave a small smile as he leaned against the railing, watching the interactions beneath them. His canine teeth were elongated, but they expressed no threat. "I think that within the hour, all shall be as well as it can be." His gaze flicked up quietly, his expression now somber. He looked out the window, where the dark sky showed no signs of anything in particular- just of night.

He gave a small sigh and looked at a room to his left, away from Mr. Dickenson.

"Is she asleep now?" The elder gentleman asked quietly, following Sorin's gaze.

"She is too concerned to sleep, though, I wish she would." He replied almost too quietly, his gaze never leaving the dark doorway. "It would do her more good than this is right now."

-o-o-o-

An hour later, and Tyson still had to be dragged away from the table. Max did most of the dragging, but Tyson did relent and take the stairs.

Tyson was the most uncomfortable in his suit, as he had set about trying to untie his tie, but the others felt uncomfortable as well. They were just better able to hide it.

As they neared the top landing of the stairs, Mr. Dickenson sent Sorin away, towards the still darkened room.

"Alright… we're here." Tyson said, a bit annoyed at having been forced from the table.

Mr. Dickenson just smiled quietly for a moment. "I can see that, and I've only asked you to meet up here because she requested it."

Surprisingly, Tala was the first to speak, "Who exactly is _she_?" He said it quietly, and to Mr. Dickenson, though his attention was on the door that was opening to their right.

A girl in a long black dress stepped out, her brown hair had two small braids, one on either side of her head that held the rest of her hair back as they joined together to run down over top the rest of her hair, which lay flat and straight. Her head was tilted downward, but as she neared them, she raised it quietly.

Every one of them kept their eyes on her. She seemed to find this slightly uncomfortable, and fidgeted a little as she came to stand beside Mr. Dickenson, facing Rei, Tyson, Max, Kenny, and Tala.

"It… has been a while…" Ellie said quietly, offering a small smile that quickly faded.

"Ellie…" Tala mumbled quietly, his right hand fluttering up for just a moment, and then falling down to his side.

"I am sorry… Tala… it was not fair on you." Her eyes remained on him for a long time, her gaze changing as she read each emotion flicking through his own eyes.

Sorin stepped out to join Ellie, a broad smile on his face. He spoke quietly to her in Romanian, and her head turned slightly to listen to him. Her hands were shaking. She did not respond to him.

"I hope you all have been…" Her violet gaze flicked to Sorin.

"Well?" He suggested, a small smile touched his face, though his own violet eyes showed worry.

"Yes… well…" Her gaze flicked back to the group.

No one said anything for a long moment, and Ellie seemed to be getting more nervous.

"You have not seen… Kai?" She asked, a touch of hope in her quiet voice.

Her hands where shaking pretty badly, and before anyone could respond, Sorin was laying his hand on her arms.

"Ellie… maybe you should go..." He began, but Ellie interrupted with a hard glance that made him flinch.

"I am fine, Sorin." Her voice was just as hard as her gaze, and her face showed her annoyance plainly.

"We… have not seen Kai, no." Rei said lightly, trying to break the suddenly harsh mood.

Ellie nodded quietly, and the conversation seemed to end. Her gaze fell to the floor, and she gently pushed Sorin's hand away. Then she looked back up at them, a small smile on her lips.

"I had hoped…" She trailed off, her gaze flicking to the stair case. She seemed to be frozen in thought.

Sorin watched her, not looking at the stairs at all. Everyone looked at Sorin.

"She's fine." He said blankly, a smile on his face. He knew her too well at this point.

She stepped forward, then she faltered.

"Ellie…" Two voices said at once. One from behind the old team and Tala, and the other was Sorin.

Sorin's gaze flicked up, a harsh look crossing his features, "Who are you?" He asked as the others turned around to look at the man standing there.

"Kai…" Ellie said softly. She lifted her foot as if to walk forward, but then she just put it back down in the same place.

Both of them were working through a lot of things in their minds, and much of these thoughts were moving rapidly across their features, though neither spoke.

Sorin looked back and forth between them, then finally said, "Ah, so you are Kai." He smiled broadly. "I am Sorin. I have come with Ellie to celebrate this momentous occasion."

"Where have you been?" Kai asked, looking past the friends he had once kept company with, and ignoring Sorin.

"I… have been taking care of the other wolves. I had no choice." Her voice came out strongly, though her features showed she was less than certain. "You… I am sorry… I tried to find you…" This time her voice held pain, and her gaze kept flicking between Kai and the floor.

"This is no time for this." Sorin said, still smiling, "This is a time to celebrate!"

"You _tried_ to find me, Ellie? Well, obviously your tracking skills are less than superb." Kai muttered lightly, his eyes never leaving Ellie.

"Kai… I tried… there was so much to do! So much to take care of! How was I to leave them there? I had to do something!" Ellie's eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away.

"And it's a good thing she did, because now she gets a reward." Sorin threw in. Everyone was mostly ignoring him, and just focusing on the show caused by Ellie and Kai.

"Kai… I love you… I needed to find you. I-tried-to-come-back-to-you-and-I-couldn't-find-you-and-I-didn't-know-how-to-find-you." Her words were running together, her speech almost too fast. Her hands shook.

Neither spoke for a long moment and no one else could bring themselves to interrupt the silence.

Kai spoke first. "I'm here now."

Ellie's eyes closed, she took a large breath. Then her eyes opened. She nodded quietly.

"Ellie… we need to celebrate." Sorin said with a broad smile, and threw an arm across her shoulders. "I mean it's not often we get to celebrate someone becoming a Beta in the clan."

Ellie flinched visibly, her head turned sharply to face the wolf beside her. Her lip twitched up, revealing her fang. "Sorin!"

"You're going back there?" Kai asked, anger flashing through his face and voice.

"I…" She looked back to Kai.

"I can't believe this." Kai clinched his fists. Anger remained on his face now. "What's the point in looking for me if you're just going to leave again?" He ground his teeth together.

"I'm…! Sorin!" Ellie turned away from Kai, away from everyone. Her body shook. "You don't understand, Kai." Ellie said softly, unable to face them.

"It's a great honor." Sorin said, grinning at Kai.

"Forget it." Kai said, his body visibly relaxing. "Just forget it." He turned to go.

Ellie turned around swiftly. "Kai!"

"No."

Her jaw shook, then clinched shut. She turned away from them and toward a staircase that went up higher into the building. She ran up them, her body shaking.

"Now look what you've done!" Sorin growled out at Kai.

"At what I've done?" Kai turned back around, glaring at the wolf. "I'm not the one saying she's going back to the wolves. I'm not the one that has let everyone wonder if she is dead for three years!"

Everyone, including Tala was surprised at the emotions reflecting in Kai.

"Well maybe you had it rough! But you have no idea what she's been through! She could not leave, what with the war! And all you're worried about is yourself, about how she wasn't right there beside you! Do you know how much she missed you? And you- a human!" Sorin glared at Kai, violet eyes meeting red. His speech was punctuated by his left hand pointing at where Ellie had disappeared. "She wanted to leave every damn day, every one of us could see it in her face, in her eyes, but she put her wants aside for the good of the clan! So that we would not die out!" He had walked forward and was now standing eye to eye with Kai, as they were the same height.

"Why should I care about the clan?" Kai shot back. "Why should I…"

"Why should you care? Because that is her family! Because we helped you when the others, the rebels, would have killed you! Costel helped you out and what did it get him? Killed! And that left a child in charge!" His entire body shook with rage and his bared teeth clenched shut momentarily. "She had to do everything! Had to grow up as fast as possible so that she would not get killed and could save as many of us as possible! Do you have any idea what you left her there with?!" Sorin's glare was hard, and if Kai had been anyone else, he would have shrank away. "Why should you care about the clan? Because that girl, who cares about you more than herself, more than anything else, has given three years of her life, three long years of her life, watching us die! She had to be stronger than anyone her age should have to be, even in the clan. She had to watch the people she grew up with die. She had to watch the rebels die." He growled, but he backed up slightly, his body no longer shaking with rage, but was rigid. "_That_ is why you should care." Sorin pushed past Kai, walking down the stairs and away from the group that was gawking at him, each quiet in their own way, each unable to say a word.

He walked silently out into the night, the door shutting quietly behind him.

Kai did not watch Sorin leave, he just kept looking straight ahead, past his one-time friends, his one-time teammates. His hand, which was resting on the handrail, fell to his side as he stood there. He was still glaring, but there was nothing for him to focus on.

He found himself looking at the people standing there. He found Max without a smile, Tyson standing still, Kenny not looking at him, and Mr. Dickenson looking troubled.

Rei stared at him in disbelief, and even Tala was looking at him like he should be doing something else. Tala's gaze was harsh, and not understanding in the least.

Kai stared at each of them in turn, his gaze unrelenting. Then, he looked away, heading quietly toward the staircase that Ellie had taken. He ignored the fact that he was annoyed at the tie around his neck, that he had dressed up in a suit and that he was too warm.

He took the stairs and did not look back at the others. Truthfully, he could not bring himself to look back at the people that he had left behind so long ago.

He found himself at the top of the stairs and unsure of which way to turn. He stood still for a moment. He listened for any sounds, but all he could hear was the sounds of music and talking from below.

A quiet voice came from his left, he followed it to a door which was slightly ajar.

"Angel… are you sure you're alright… your language is…" A girl said softly, concern in her light accent.

"Fine, Rica." Ellie replied.

Kai moved toward the door, placing a hand gently on it and pushing it slightly open. He saw two females in silhouette at the window.

One, the one standing beside the window, turned her head as the door opened. Kai could not see who it was, since the only light in the room was the light coming through the window, and that was pointing at her back. She turned briefly towards the one sitting in the window, motioned toward him with one hand, and then walked toward him.

She passed him in the doorway, turned her head toward him. He remembered her briefly as one of their guards.

Rica gave him a small nod, and kept walking past.

Kai looked back to Ellie, who remained quietly sitting in the window sill. He felt strange, going into the solemn room, and shutting the door as quietly as he could. He felt like he was intruding on some kind of private vigil held by the girl- the woman, he corrected himself mentally.

He approached her quietly, watching her the whole time. He realized that she was shivering, though the room was warm and the window was closed. He also realized that she did not seem to be aware of him, her head never turned and she never said anything to him.

When he stood beside her, he stopped, waiting to see if she would say anything.

Five minutes went by without a word. He studied her face, as light came through the window over her features. Her eyes were closed, her mouth clinched tight. Lines shimmered on her face.

He realized she had been crying before he came up here.

"Ellie?" He asked softly, partially hoping she would not come out of her silence.

Her eyes opened, but she did not look at him. She remained silent for a little while, but Kai did not speak either.

"I tried." Ellie said finally. "I try… to find you… Tala… he did not know… no one…" She pulled in a deep breath. "I did not know…" A violent shiver over took her body. He looked her over, and realized she looked too thin in her black dress. "I am sorry… I left you… made you leave." She gulped in air for a moment. Her body shook violently again.

Kai realized this person was not the same one he had left in the wolf lands. Her voice was deeply accented, sometimes it was like she had trouble with the words.

It was like she was starting over; as if those years with him, all of the languages she had learned, had never taken place.

"I'm…" Her eyes shut and she let out a small sigh. "Sorry, Kai…" Her eyes opened again, but she focused on what was outside of the window. She watched the rain falling down, and for awhile, the only sound in the room was the sound of rain hitting the window.

"Ellie… What happened to you?" Kai asked quietly, sitting down on the edge of the window sill and watching her.

She turned her head toward him, though she remained looking out of the window for a moment. Then she brought her violet gaze to him.

"I'm sorry, Kai." Was all she said.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Rei found himself sitting at the hotel with Tala and Kai the next day. Kai had come and spent the night in the room with Tala, though neither had spoken at all.

Kai had said nothing when he had rejoined them last night.

Even Rica had said nothing when she had come down before Kai.

But Kai had come down with Ellie, though she maintained a good distance from him while they walked. She had joined Rica, who had just looked at her, neared her, but did not go anywhere near to touching her. Ellie had not looked at any of them, instead had chosen to look briefly at Rica, who, seeming to have understood an unstated command, had began the descent to the dance floor. Ellie had followed in equal silence.

They had walked through the cheerful crowd and outside, disappearing into the raining night.

The group, not in a particularly festive mood, despite being rejoined by their one-time captain and friend, had left soon after.

And now, Kai sat quietly staring out the window, Tala staring blankly at the television as he went through each channel, and Rei flipping through the newspaper.

A knock sounded at the door around noon, so Rei went to go answer it. Standing there was a sour looking Sorin and a slightly smiling Rica. Both wolves looked at him patiently.

"Kai?" He called out, not very loudly, as he knew the Russian was not in the best of moods, though, thinking back to it, he had never really been in that good of a mood. Except with Ellie, before all of this.

Kai had come without needing to be called a second time. He had taken one look at the two wolves, and walked outside, closing the door without looking at Rei.

Kai followed them, while they spoken amongst themselves, to another floor, where they entered a large suite.

"Angel is in there, she's okay today." Rica said with a small smile, pointing to a door which was ajar.

Sorin glared at Kai, "No thanks to him."

"Sorin…" Rica said softly, glancing at him with a look that meant more than her words ever could.

Sorin gave a small sigh.

Ellie came out during the exchange, glanced at Kai, and walked past him, looking at the ground. She headed toward the kitchen.

"Angel?" Rica asked, and she paused in her step. "I thought you wanted to go to lunch."

"You were to get them all at once. All to meal." Ellie mumbled, still not looking at anyone in particular. She tilted her head slightly, hair falling into her face, covering the violet triangles on her forehead and her violet eyes, which were still downcast.

Rica looked briefly to Sorin, who took the hint, and left again, disappearing out of the door.

"Why don't we sit and talk while we wait?" Rica suggested kindly, looking to Kai, who silently followed her into the dining room. Ellie entered a moment later, not looking at them, but instead, out of the window.

Rica gestured blankly at the chairs, whilst taking one herself.

"Can I get you something Kai?" Rica asked in her accented voice. She brushed a strand of long brown hair from her face while she waited for his response, which was a long time coming.

He finally just shook his head, and she shrugged, then looked out of the window, just like Ellie.

Kai felt uncomfortable amongst the two females.

He watched Ellie as she sat; her hands and body seeming to move independently of her focus. While her gaze remained resiliently towards the window, she pulled a chair out and sat, hands placed delicately in her lap.

Kai swallowed, he felt nervous. He could not explain what had happened last night to himself, and the Ellie's mere presence brought back the pain and the confusion of the night before.

_"I'm sorry Kai." It had seemed to be the only thing she could say to him. When she had finally turned her gaze on him, he wanted to smile, to reach out and touch her, pull her against his chest._

_But her gaze, the blankness and the pain that haunted her eyes made him freeze in place. He briefly wondered how often she looked so hurt._

_"I should have… you found… earlier…?" Something flicked in her face, then she tried again. "Found you… earlier…" She grimaced. "Hard… Russian…"_

_Kai found himself unable to say anything for a moment as she just stared at him._

_Finally, he found his voice, "Ellie… what happened after we left?"_

_"You left…?" She echoed quietly, then her eyes widened and he saw terror in those large violet orbs. "It was… they split from us…Two…two…" she blinked in confusion. "Eh?" She looked to him hopefully._

_He shook his head, then suggested, "Groups?"_

_"Yes… two groups… One behind Costel, the other with Jaime… Fools…The clan is not meant to split…" She bit her lip. "Each chose… but it was bad no matter what." She shook her head and some of her hair fell into her face._

_He noticed her body shaking._

_"I chose Costel." A sigh took over her entire form._

_"Did you chose the winning side?" He asked, really asking if her side was the better one._

_"No one wins." Her voice was hollow, and her gaze equally hollow. "No one wins when blood is shed." As she said this, her eyes took on a glazed look. She seemed to be remembering something, but Kai never did find out._

"I've only found the cat and the red-hair." Sorin's voice broke through Kai's memory. He found himself still staring at Ellie. She had at some point turned her head to face him, but she was not looking into his face. She was looking downward, as if afraid to look at him.

"Angel…? Will that do?" Rica asked, looking at the girl.

She made a small "mmh" sound and a slight nod. Her eyes travelled up and Kai found himself staring into violet orbs. There was no trace of anything from last night in them- no terror, no fear, not even hesitation or uncertainty.

Instead, there was pride in her eyes, and hope. For a moment, she seemed as if nothing had ever happened to her.

Kai found himself leaning towards her, a few inches from her. Her lips were slightly parted. Her eyes met his with ease, and she seemed to be completely wrapped up in his attention.

"Angel?" Sorin asked, there was venom in the way he clipped his word.

Ellie turned her head toward him, but it was still a few moments before her eyes moved from Kai to Sorin.

She blinked at him for a moment, then shook her head and stood, looking at her palms.

"We should go…" She looked quickly to Rica.

"Eat?" Rica asked, a small smile touching her features.

Kai stood as Ellie nodded.

"Sounds good to me." Sorin replied bitterly.

Ellie flinched, and her gaze shot up to him. He jerked back in surprise at the venom in that simple look.

She spoke in Romanian to him, and he seemed to be trying to hide from her words, which sped up. Rica's mouth had fallen open slightly and her eyes were wide.

Rica gained her senses and stepped forward, speaking softly in Romanian, reaching out to touch Ellie on the arm.

"No!" Ellie shot at her, then continued ranting at Sorin in anger.

The three non-wolves just stood there, uncertain of what to do or say.

Ellie was in the middle of a word when she suddenly cut off, punching down hard at the table. A crack echoed in the room. She was biting her lower lip hard enough that blood was slowly seeping between her teeth.

"You… _will_ _not_… speak… to ANYONE that way again." She stated harshly in Japanese. "Do _you_ Understand?" Rage echoed in her voice.

"Y-yes, ma'am…" Sorin whispered out, a slight tremor in his body as well as voice.

Ellie nodded decisively.

"We should go now." She said with a sigh that made her seem tired- as if she had seen too much. "Come, Sorin, we shall eat now." There was a strange elegance to the way she spoke, her accent coming clearly through her words.

She bowed her head slightly, and in a strong sure voice, said, "I have my moments of clarity. Of complete mental clarity."

With that, she walked out of the door of the apartment, the others trailing silently behind her.

-0-0-

The restaurant they ate at was small and quiet. Ellie seemed pleased with the choice, though mostly, she seemed lost in thought.

She was fine until the food came.

She had ordered a large bowl of soup- suspiciously lacking meat. Even Sorin and Rica had ordered meatless meals. Rei had gotten some kind of chicken and pasta dish. Kai had decided on something simple and had just gotten what Rica had gotten- since it had sounded interesting, some kind of pasta.

Tala, who sat on the opposite side of Kai, had ordered a large steak. Ellie, sitting at the head of the table, quickly noted what Tala had gotten, and a fidget went through her body as he cut into it.

Tala did not notice, but Rica and Kai did, as they were sitting on either side of her.

Ellie's eyes watched quietly as Tala cut the pieces and brought them to his mouth. She seemed riveted by the sight.

She had not even made it to eating her food yet.

"Angel?" Rica whispered urgently. She had stopped midway through eating her pasta, her fork was still held in her hand, stuck down into the bowl.

Ellie's head turned slightly toward Rica, though her eyes remained on Tala.

Kai held up a hand, moving it to hide the steak from Ellie's view. Tala noticed and looked up. He was about to say something to Kai, when he noticed Ellie, who had paled considerably.

"Angel?" Rica tried again, a little louder.

Sorin and Rei were watching her now.

She said a few words in Romanian, her gaze still blank.

Kai looked quickly to Rica. Rica briefly met his gaze. "Blood… and pain… that's what she's talking about."

Ellie blinked suddenly, shaking her head. Her gaze was still blank and her face pale. Words fell from her lips softly.

"So much blood." Rica translated softly.

Sorin looked annoyed, but worried.

"_What_ is she talking about?" Kai asked, suddenly looking sharply to the female across from him.

Her soft gaze refused to meet his.

Kai stood up; he leaned over the table. "Rica. What is she talking about?" He asked again, voice hard but not angry.

Sorin answered instead, "Something you wouldn't understand."

"Sorin…" Rica said softly, then she looked up at Kai. "You need to wait for Angel to tell you. We understand what we can, but we were in a different bracket than she was." She shook her head. "It is her heart and mind that it affected." She looked to Angel. "It destroyed her and rebuilt her." She paused. "I can explain no more than that." She gave a sigh.

Rica looked to Sorin as he stood, glaring at Kai.

"I think we should go." Sorin said harshly.

Rica nodded lightly. "I must agree with you. Angel is in no state to be here today." She stood, though she seemed reluctant to do so. "Angel?" She asked softly, gently touching the other girl's arm.

The flinch that went through Ellie's body nearly took her out of her chair. She started to babble in a few different languages.

Kai caught a few words which were in Russian- namely no, blood, can't, and the phrase: it wasn't supposed to be like this.

Rica jerked back when Ellie reached out for her hand.

Rica looked quickly to Sorin, fear on her features.

"Ellie?" Kai asked, sinking down into his chair. He spoke quickly in Russian to her.

Her gaze flicked to him for a moment, then back at the steak and back to Kai, resting on his features.

She watched him with guarded eyes as he continued to speak to her- all of it in Russian.

"What do you mean? Ellie, please, tell me. What was not supposed to happen? What is wrong? Ellie, please talk to me!" He was not begging, but there was need in his eyes. He needed to understand what had happened to her, what all she had seen in those three years.

For the first time, it really dawned on her that he had no idea.

She opened her mouth lightly, then slowly formed the words in Russian to him, saying, "I will tell you… what I can. Not here." She paused and took a deep breath, her eyes flicking back to the meat. "Not here." She whispered softly.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

It was later, much later, when Ellie decided to find Kai.

A week had passed since the restaurant incident. She had deftly avoided Kai, though he had not sought her to speak with her.

That had been Rica suggestion to him anyway- _"Let her take her time, Kai. Some of what she has been through has been in her mind for three years, some for over a year. She has trusted no one with it. Not even me- or Sorin." Rica had given him a rueful smile at that. "Gods no, not Sorin." And a small dark chuckle escaped her lips. She shook her head._

So Kai had followed that, and had hoped Ellie really would come talk to him.

Today, around nine at night, the sky dark and the moon full and rising, a knock came at the door. It was a soft sound, but it echoed in the silent rooms behind it.

Almost everyone had been gone anyway- Max and Tyson out to play at an arcade or some such. Chief was hitting up a few computer stores looking for something- he never did explain what. Rei had gone to see a movie that he had tried to convince both Tala and Kai to see. Both had refused.

Tala had taken one look at Kai, seen the distance in his friend's face, and disappeared to a bar.

Thus Kai, having sat at the kitchen table, staring at nothing in particular, heard the knock on the door.

He rose and answered it, coming face-to-face with Ellie.

She stood there, her features tired, but her eyes alert and shining. She wore jeans and a tee-shirt, and her hair was tied back with a black ribbon. Her bangs were even held back, so that they would not fall in her face.

Her violet eyes met his red ones with the intensity that he remembered, but there was more behind them than the anger that used to fill her.

"Walk with me?" She asked quietly in Russian.

He let a slightly ragged breath out. He realized they had not stood this close together in a long time. She was mere inches in front of him, not even half a foot really.

"Yeah…" He finally answered.

She stepped back as he exited the room, allowing him to walk into the hallway.

To Kai, she seemed different tonight. It was like one of those moments when she had seemed stronger, in control.

He walked beside her as they left the building, neither of them saying a word.

He found himself watching her, confused at the sudden change. He realized that some part of her was not different- if someone walked too close to her, she would flinch, and watch warily as they passed by.

She led him to a park not very far from the hotel they stayed at.

They walked into it, sitting down at a bench facing a small pond. Ellie did not look at him for a long time; instead, she lifted her chin and stared up at the moon.

Kai just watched her in silence.

"I am sorry, Kai." Ellie said finally. "I… made you leave… it hurt you." She turned her head to look at him. "For that… I am sorry."

"Don't…" He began, but she reached up and brushed his cheek, a small pained smile touched her mouth. The tiny gesture silenced him, more from surprise than anything.

"You asked what happened." The smile disappeared, and her hand slowly returned to her lap. "I can tell you what happened after you left- three years of hell." She shook her head. "I would ask… if you really wanted to know?" Her brow furrowed, "I know the answer already." She looked at the pond for a moment, and then resumed talking. "You left, and the crowd of wolves… came inward. Two factions emerged. Those following Jaime and those following Costel. There were other leaders- you do not know them, so I give you the ones you may remember." Her gaze was distant as she sat there, remembering each moment. "This is mostly what happened-

_"The two factions had formed quickly. Everyone already knew where their loyalties resided._

_Costel yelled over the roar, 'We are a pack!' But even he knew… even he knew it was bound to happen._

_We were aligned already. And the first battle broke out amongst the pack. It was the first in hundreds of years, or so we are taught to believe. It was a bloody affair. It was aligned in no obvious way- each family unit had people on both sides._

_Wolves died, children were torn open. Costel and I could do nothing to stop it; and Jaime herself refused to see that it needed to._

_Once the pack was tired out, Jaime called a retreat. Her group was marginally smaller, though not by much. I do not know where they went. Somewhere into the forest._

_The dead littered our home. Blood was everywhere._

_'I will help bury the dead,' I told Costel._

_'No,' He replied with a sigh, 'you will come with me, there is much to do. We will leave the dead to the others- they will take them to the forest. The crows shall feast tomorrow when they rise.' He seemed so hurt, so old. I did not understand, but I did not ask._

_We went into a room I did not know existed. He, a few others, and myself gathered around and began our plans. It would be a civil war amongst us. There was no other way._

_Though I tried to advocate peace, I knew it was no use. There would be no peace so long as I lived. I was a part of what broke the pack apart. It began with what happened to me and the others._

"It began with when you saved me, Kai." She looked to him, and pain touched her eyes. He wanted to hold her for a moment, because the pain tore into him. "It would have to end with me."

_"It continued for months. Wolves were killed when they went to hunt, and the stench of rotten meat and blood covered the forest._

_It got to the point that some of us refused to eat. We were force fed. There was simply nothing else to eat._

_The stocks grew slim. Jaime's group was mostly young, my age, or near there. They did not understand the concept of over hunting._

_We neared a famine within the first eight months._

_Then a decisive battle came. They attacked us, since we were the stationary group. Jaime came after me herself- Costel got in the way._

"He was not old." She said harshly, though the anger was not directed at Kai. "But she was still faster, younger, they had more of a range. More food." A tremor of anger went through her. "She killed him. Right there in front of me. I had not been so close to the fighting before- I was splattered with blood." A ragged breath escaped her. "Jaime… Jaime screamed… the sound of it… gods the sound of it…" Ellie flinched. "She had _never_ killed anyone before. Something snapped in her… I did not understand."

Another ragged breath came to her, and a sob escaped her mouth. "Costel…" She whimpered, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"The committee and I… we got together and decided we had to end it. There was only one way." She looked boldly up to Kai. In her eyes he saw defiance and resolve, but he also saw how the memories haunted her everyday. "I was essentially in charge at this point. I… Costel had made me a Beta, since some of the others had died. There was no Alpha. It was a temporary post for me, only until it was over.

"But I was in charge, of planning, of the dead, of watching the wolves die, of giving the orders that would get them killed." She grimaced, but the resolve still remained in her violet eyes. "There was no one else to turn to. Rica became the healer, so she was one of the few that were not allowed to fight, but she had no decisions to make. Really it was me and two others. We were the only ones who knew everything that was going on." Another shiver took her over.

"We planned the next battle; we had narrowed down where their main location was. We knew that we needed to eliminate a few more possibilities. It took us a few more months to find it. Two years had almost passed by now." She bared her teeth and he saw the chipped canine that Tala had seen.

_"Our forces were down to half the original size. We had less than Jaime did. Their pack was now little more than a wild group of wolves, each near as crazy as Jaime herself. We met them at their own grounds._

_I faced Jaime- it would be the first time I was actively involved in the fighting. It was like everything else just disappeared. It was Jaime and I. I knew, perhaps more than she did, that this would be the end of it, to some extent. If she was subdued, there would be no resistance. If I was… well, I would have been dead. Those were the choices._

_She and I went at it. By now, most of us were feral, there was no logic in what we were doing._

_There was blood, hers and mine, drenching both of us. We were locked into a battle that would only end one way. But it wasn't until…"_

"Kai… what did I do?" A pained sob broke through her story again, tears were running down her face. "I… my hands…" She held them out in front of her, staring at the palms. She looked in fear as they shook again. "Jaime's blood was everywhere… my tooth chipped when I went for… it's the softest place… and it was like hunting… gods…" She looked up at Kai, her violet eyes wide in terror at the memory.

"I… bolted… I found Tala… I wasn't trying to… but I _knew_ he was there. I had forgotten how to communicate in anything… other that Romanian." She shivered and her hands were still held out in front of her, as if they were contaminated. "Gods… I must have been a sight," She said with a wicked chuckle, "covered in blood and barely able to speak…"

She shivered again.

"The fighting ended a few days later. At least the physical fighting." She stared at him, pain in her eyes again. Tears welled in her eyes. "The pack… had to be rebuilt. All of the leaders were dead… I took most of it on my own. The committee… the two who had been helping… were killed while I was speaking to Tala." She shook her head.

"Kai… I'm so sorry that I made you leave…" Her body shook slightly. "It was _so_ _hard_, Kai." She stared up at him; there was pain in her eyes. "So many people… so much blood…"

He felt horrible suddenly. He had spent those three years basically avoiding everyone, miserable because she had made him leave. Now he knew what she had witnessed, what she had been a part of, and he had a feeling she had not told him all that she remembered. He did not think that she ever would.

"I wasn't allowed… Costel told me to never tell them… not then, and not after… 'Never tell them you are afraid, hurt, or crying. You _will_ lose if you do.'" She shook quietly. "I didn't know what to do most of the time. I've never been so responsible for so many people. I didn't have anyone to _really_ talk to." Her voice was so soft.

Kai swallowed his emotions as he watched her. He suddenly felt very selfish. No, he didn't like that she had forced him to leave, but she had been through a lot in three years.

"Ellie…" He said softly, he felt his heart melting towards her again.

"I know that I'm not the same person Kai. But I can't be- I can try but it's not that easy…" She was not pleading with him to understand, or to accept her. She was trying to explain, trying to tell him it was okay if… "I would understand… I mean…" She was struggling with the words.

"We're both a little older, Ellie. We've both been through things that have affected us." He looked at her with a steady gaze that he would not allow to falter. "Just because you're different… it doesn't mean that I won't… care about you." Those words were harder to say than he thought they would be.

Silence dominated now, for a long time. Neither spoke. Ellie, still shaking, though her resolve had come back into her eyes, was the first to speak.

"I think… that we should remain friends…" Ellie said softly.

Kai nodded. "I agree." He said with a small sigh.

"Thank you, Kai." He looked at her, confused, for a moment, before she continued. "For both listening and understanding."

They sat there for a long time, not saying anything to each other, both just captive in their own thoughts.

Kai noted with relief that Ellie seemed less upset. She seemed more normal now than before.

She looked out at the water, rippling slightly as a soft breeze came through the park. A few strands of her hair floated briefly in the light breeze.

Ellie hummed softly. Kai listened to it, but could not figure out the song that it was to represent. The soft hum got a little louder, and soon she was allowing it the sound of it to echo through her slightly parted lips.

It was not a hum, Kai realized, it was a soft howl.

Her eyes closed and she tilted her head back. The howl came from her mouth, soft at first, but rising until it rose through the air.

It was not what he really remembered or imagined a howl would be. It was like a howled song, quiet and haunting.

It was not as loud as those he had heard before, but it was apparently loud enough. Somewhere to their right, another voice joined hers. It was further away, he knew, but it matched her tone. A few more joined in, before she let it trail off. The others ended shortly after hers.

She opened her eyes, blinked, and smiled lightly.

"Wolf-song," She said softly, in explanation to him.

"What is it for?" He asked, recalling her telling him once that every howl had a meaning or a purpose.

The smile danced on her lips as she turned her head to face him again.

"To tell other wolves that everything is okay." The smile on her face, and the calmness in her eyes told him just how true this statement was.

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This was the worst chapter to try and write... rawr... I don't like it really, way too serious. Though I guess the whole fic is kind of serious in general. However, I think I (and possible you all) will like subsequent chapters better. Much easier on the mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

Ellie seemed more relaxed over the next few days. She did not stare off into space quite as often, though it still happened every few hours.

She frequently sat in their apartment now. She rarely said anything, and if she did, it was quiet and hardly heard. She was more of a spectator in their life than a participator.

She seemed aware of something, however, that no one else did.

About a week after she and Kai had spoken, she had come to the apartment door, which was now routinely left unlocked to accommodate her unpredictable entrances. Kai had met her there, as he did almost everyday.

"You know… you all will be leaving soon." Her voice was soft, and her gaze rather distant, speaking to everyone, although only Kai and Rei were in the room.

Rei thought this over briefly, and realized she was right; it had been about four weeks here in America. "You're right… I have to return home at some point." He said, looking at Ellie thoughtfully.

"And, Mr. Dickenson," Ellie said very softly, "Has said he will be sending Tyson home within the week." She glanced briefly at Rei, a touch of a smile on her lips. "Max will be going with him and Kenny…" Her gaze sharpened as if she needed to focus on something. "Though I think Max is visiting with Tyson. And Kenny is just… where ever…" Her slight smile was replaced with a thoughtful frown.

Silence grew between the three of them.

"Then… Tala…" Ellie turned her violet gaze to Kai, "and you… Back to Russia, I suppose?"

Kai looked at her blankly for awhile. "You… Where are you going?" He asked finally.

Ellie sighed and looked away. "I guess that depends, really." She frowned and lifted her hands slightly to look at them. It had become a gesture that Kai recognized, but few others did. Only Rica seemed to be bothered by it at all, and Sorin took no notice of it. "I wish to sit, if you don't mind?" She asked, her hands dropping to her sides.

Kai nodded his affirmative, just once.

Ellie gave a quick smile, and then headed over to the couch. Kai followed quietly. Rei remained in the adjoining kitchen, though he could still see and hear them both.

Both sat quietly for a long time, at either end of the couch. Ellie looked quietly out of the window, and Kai watched her.

Rei still saw something between them; though he was not sure what it was exactly; whatever it was, it made him smile. He decided it was best if he left them alone for awhile. He slipped quietly out of the apartment, smiling to himself.

Both the Russian and the wolf heard him leave, but neither gave any sign that they did.

Ellie remained looking out of the window.

"Kai… I don't know what to do." She said finally, though still not looking at him. "I… can go back to the pack… I can be partially in control of the pack."

Kai waited as she spoke, wishing she would stop looking out the window and look at him instead. "Are you going to?" He asked very softly.

"You know how much good I could do there?" Her eyes opened wide, and she seemed to be seeing it all in her head. This was not the look of someone remembering, but of someone with a hope that can only be satisfied by doing something. "Remake the entire structure, rebuild it all." Even though she was not looking at him, he could see the light in her eyes at the thought. "So very much to do." She sighed again, giving a very small shake of her head as if to clear that hope away.

He thought she was going to say more, but it was a long time of silence that filled the room.

"Is that what you want?" He asked, and realized at the same time that they were sitting as far away from each other as possible and still be sitting on the same piece of furniture.

"Mmm… not really." Ellie responded; her voice was thoughtful, and some small hint of regret tinged it at this admission. Her gaze remained on something outside of the window.

He wanted to scoot closer to her, but thought that a bad idea.

"What is it that you want Ellie?" He asked quietly, regarding her with his usual stoic stare.

She turned her head slightly, but did not look straight at him; she was thinking through everything that she wanted. Then she flicked her violet gaze up to him. The intensity surprised him.

"There are a lot of things I want Kai. Not the least of which is to be the girl you remember." She lifted her chin up and gazed confidently into his eyes. "Or at least a girl you can stand." Her voice was just as confident, but there was a soft pained quality to it.

"You think… what?" He asked, looking to her with confusion in his eyes.

"Well… I am not the girl you left behind… and I don't know what you want of me?" She offered softly.

"I…" He thought over what he wanted to say, even though he had already started. "I am fine with whatever you want." He said finally.

"First off, that is not an answer. Secondly…" She looked him over, her eyes trailing over his body, taking in everything. "That's not true." Every emotion faded from her face and voice.

Kai opened his mouth to respond, but she beat him to it.

Her hand reached up and brushed his cheek. He had forgotten what it was like for her to do that. Not that she had done that much before, but there had been contact between them before. Now, after three years, she rarely sought it from him.

"You hate it." Her voice was soft and smooth. "Not that I'm different."

"I don't…" he began, but she interrupted him.

"You hate that I've asked for a different relationship." She slid closer to him, her eyes still meeting his. Something about the movement, about the closeness, was getting to him. He could control everything about his responses, but he was still aware that it was beginning to remind him of when she had been with him before. "For friendship." She brushed fingers lightly down his jaw-line. "Instead of what there was." Her eyes clouded over with an emotion that he could not read. She pulled her hand away and looked away from him. "Do you know what all I can read from you? What all of us can read from you?" She shook her head and closed her eyes. "Not just you, all of them."

Silence descended over both of them. Her sigh broke the silence a few minutes later. Then she opened her eyes, but did not look to him. Her voice was soft and almost inaudible. "Do you want me to return to Russia with you?"

"What?" Kai was beyond surprised, and it showed in his face. Granted, he was not really focusing on hiding everything, since his old team mates were not around. He still felt more free to show his emotions around her than them, but it had surprised him.

Ellie turned to look at him. "It would keep me from leaving you again." She replied softly, her violet eyes flashing with an unreadable emotion. "Which is what we both want, right?"

A small smirk touched his lips when he heard her ask that. "What 'we both' want?" He asked, still smirking.

She returned his smirk, though he noted, he still could not read what kept flashing through her eyes. "I _am_ only assuming." She replied softly.

He regarded her coolly, keeping the smirk on his lips easily.

"Is that what you want, Ellie?" He asked finally, allowing the smirk to fade, and just looked down into her face.

"It would be nice to get away from Sorin." She said flatly.

He looked at her as if she had just said the stupidest thing he had ever heard, which considering he had been around Tyson, was a pretty good feat.

Ellie chuckled softly. She bit her lip. "I was kidding, Kai." The smile from her laughter did not fade. "But I do miss being around you." Then she winced, "And, really, it would be nice to get away from the boy. He is rather annoying and over protective."

Kai shrugged. He found Sorin to just be irritating. In fact the male wolf had just rubbed him the wrong way in everything he had said and done.

Ellie's eyes widened, "Oh! You don't know! Ack!" She said with sudden realization.

"What?" He asked, regarding her with curiosity. It was about the only time he had heard her have a real outburst.

"Um… Sorin… I thought they were all dead…" She winced again. "He kind of found us when the… when it was all going on." He noted her continued skirting of that particular conversation, not that he blamed her. He tried to ignore his past completely, or as much as possible. "He's… Sorin's… well… hmmm." She looked perplexed for a moment, "I don't know _how_ one tells some one this type of thing. Especially when I told you before that they were all dead, I mean _I_ was surprised." She shook her head. "Sorin's my… older brother…" She shook her head again. "It's still weird saying that." She looked blankly at him for a moment.

"Wait… so your family isn't all dead?" Kai said, to which she nodded. "That explains it." He said, reviewing everything that had happened between the two men. He was just an older brother feeling responsible for his younger sister.

"I hope so…" She shook her head.

They both turned their heads as the door opened. Tala just glanced at them. "Interrupting?" He asked flatly, glancing at the scant inches between the two.

Ellie shook her head. She had been almost friendly to him lately, though mostly it was because she did not know what to say to him. Her feuds with him from before seemed irrelevant to her, and Tala refused to bring them up because he remembered what it had done to Kai.

Five minutes of dead silence passed, in which Kai had turned to glance at him as well.

"Well… as much fun as this is…" Tala said with a sigh and a glance towards the chair not far from the sofa.

He walked over to it and sat down, with more of an ungraceful dropping into it than a real sitting down.

"So what are you two doing?" He asked, not really looking at them, but towards them. When neither responded, he asked, "When do we head back to Russia?"

Ellie watched him curiously.

"Yes, you too." Tala said, noting the look on her face, which she quickly covered up. He frowned, "I passed Rei in the hall a little bit ago, he said you two were in here talking."

Ellie yawned suddenly, and got up, moving toward the window. Both Russians watched her. She opened the window and leaned out of it, looking out into the sky.

"I dislike cities." She said after a moment, now speaking in Russian.

"So as soon as possible then?" Tala asked, looking to Kai, who just shrugged. "As soon as possible then." Tala mumbled to himself, looking blankly at the television, which was off.

-o-o-o-o-

Neither Rica nor Sorin were thrilled at the airport. They seemed to hate the crowds as much as Ellie did, who was standing beside Kai.

Her reactions were much better than the last time she had been with them on a flight, however. She was amazingly alert, though had a tendency to flinch at the slightest surprise.

She looked around constantly, scanning the crowd. Kai took this as being part of the role she had taken on with the wolves.

Tyson, Kenny and Max were there as well. This would be the place the whole group split up.

Rei was supposed to take a flight to China; Tyson, Max, and Kenny were all flying to Japan.

Ellie was indeed going with Kai and Tala back to Russia.

Rica seemed to understand this better than Sorin, who had growled loudly with his anger. Luckily, he had heard this back at the apartments, so he was now just fuming, and glaring at Kai as if he had done something to Ellie.

Rica came up to Ellie, smiling and giving her a hug. She whispered quietly to Ellie. "Angel, you are sure about this?"

Ellie nodded softly.

"I thought you might choose so- and I had warned Sorin." Rica tightened her hold on Ellie.

They both pulled away at the same time.

Sorin glared at Kai and then at Ellie. "This is a bad idea." He snarled out.

"It is my decision, Sorin. Do not question it." Ellie said this with the same authority she had used every other time she had given him a command.

Rica just shook her head, and touched Sorin's forearm. "Come, Sorin." She gave Ellie a smile as she began to lead Sorin away. "Goodbye sister." She smiled softly, though concern was evident in her face.

Ellie nodded, "Goodbye sister."

Max looked at her in confusion. "She's your sister?"

Ellie shook her head, "She is a sister wolf. Not by blood; not exactly anyhow." She considered something briefly. "It would be like you calling Tyson family, or Kenny, or Rei, or even Kai. You are a group. You have lived together and been there for each other." She watched the two wolves disappearing into the crowds. "Family is about caring for each other." She sighed, "And sometimes that means it hurts just as much to lose them as it would a blood-family member."

Max nodded, but Kai got the sense that Ellie was talking about others that she had lost to those three years, and thus Max could not really understand- at least not in the way she meant it. Of course they had all lost people they cared about.

"Our flight is going to be leaving soon." Kenny said, pushing his glasses up.

"Yeah! Bye guys!" Tyson said, running off towards the plane.

"Bye." Kenny said, following him quietly.

"Yeah, bye guys." Max said with a smile and a wave, following them into the crowd.

"That just leaves me." Rei said with a smile at them all. "And three of the non-talkative people." He gave a small laugh. He looked up at the board, "Well, they're calling my flight, I should go." He looked at them. "Tala, try to keep me updated this time." He joked, and then looked to Kai, "Though, if you don't disappear this time it won't be necessary." Ellie looked quizzically at Kai, and Rei realized that she still had no idea, just like the rest of them, as to what Kai had been doing during those three years. He gave a mental shrug and smiled at Ellie. "And you, little wolf," he smiled at her, but there was a seriousness in his eyes that told her a lot, he switched to Chinese, and hoped she understood, "_Try not to break his heart._" He smiled again, said, "Bye," and off he went, leaving the last three Russia-bound people to themselves.

Kai looked to Ellie, "Did you understand him?" He asked softly.

She glanced at him; then, stepped closer to him, not quite touching, but close to it. She nodded. "Yeah. But I think I already did." Her voice was soft, and she had turned to look at where Rei had disappeared.

-o-o-o-o-

She did not even hesitate when they boarded the plane. She seemed completely sure of herself.

It struck Kai as odd, but so had many of the qualities she had presented to him lately. He thought briefly about the hug she had accepted from Rica, but Ellie seemed unwilling, or perhaps unable, to accept any physical attention from him. And now, here she walked as if planes were not frightening to her. She also refused to talk about anything too deep.

Other than when she told him about what all had happened, or at least the part she seemed willing to speak about, the hardest thing that they had spoken about was whether she was going to Russia with him or returning to the wolves.

Ellie sat silently in the window seat, staring straight ahead.

Kai watched her silently.

Everything in her seemed to be shut down. There was little if any playfulness that she had expressed. There was little seeking of contact from him, or anyone other than her brother and Rica. There was little enough emotion showing through her, not even annoyance, which he had expected when Tyson and Max had come bounding in one night, loud as ever.

"Ellie," He said softly.

She turned her head towards him, her violet eyes meeting his red gaze in utter silence.

He shook his head, and she tilted hers, as if trying to figure something out.

"Hmm?" She asked. When he gave no response, her chin, and in effect her entire head, dropped a couple of inches, so that she was looking up at him. She reminded him of a child who knew she had done something wrong and was trying to not look at him, but wanted to see how he reacted.

He gave no response, just watched her, confusion fluttering in him as the time elapsed.

She seemed to sense something of this, as she slid her hand over the hand rest, brushing his arm with her fingers. It, however, was a hesitant movement, and it bothered him more.

He pulled his arm away, not jerking it, but sliding it easily from her hand.

She frowned and shook her head, staring at him perplexed. Then she looked away, she hid it from him, but it actually hurt to have him pull away.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

Kai had gotten them all set up in the same house they had stayed in last time.

Tala had a bedroom right next to Kai's. Ellie's room was on the other side of Kai's room.

It had felt awkward to all of them, in different ways.

Tala found it awkward because, though he had not been expecting Kai and Ellie to just pick up where they left off, he was expecting Ellie to act like a wolf. And acting like a wolf meant sleeping beside someone else.

Kai and Ellie were both awkward for the same reason- neither really understood where they stood with the other, and both were too withdrawn to ask.

Mostly, Ellie and Kai spent time avoiding being alone with each other, while Tala just watched from the sidelines.

Today, though, Ellie was walking around in the snow, watching as the pure white frozen substance fell around her and filled in her steps.

Kai watched her from the doorway, trying to work out everything he wanted to say. Tala stood beside the doorway, his eyes flicking back and forth between the two.

"You should just say something." He muttered, shaking his head.

Kai glared at him. "And what should I say?" He asked; annoyance was clear in his voice.

Tala thought about this for a moment, "I want to bed you?" He suggested, a wicked smile crossing his face.

Kai's glare intensified; Tala had to keep himself from flinching. Both fell silent, and Kai resumed watching Ellie, who was now kneeling down beside a flowering plant that had somehow survived the frost.

Her fingers, he could tell even from the few feet away that he was, were delicate as they brushed snow off of the light purple flower.

"You need to say something." Tala said with a sigh. "Or maybe you don't need to say anything." He said thoughtfully, "Maybe you just need to _show_ her."

Kai looked to Tala, checking to make sure he was actually keeping a clean mind. When he had decided that Tala did not mean something dirty, he asked, "What do you mean?"

Tala thought this over for a moment, "Before, when I had a problem with all of this," He looked at Kai, and then back to Ellie, "both of you acted differently. Like you needed each other, like you wanted each other. Even if it was a simple touch- or like last time we were here." He looked to Kai, seeing if he remembered. Kai shook his head. "You were out there," Tala gestured to the snowy field, "Out there with her."

Kai watched Ellie.

Both Tala and Kai remained silent for a long time.

"You don't have to take my suggestion," Tala said softly, though it was not necessarily kind, "But it seems like neither of you have left the world you have been forced to live in." He turned slightly, and said back over his shoulder. "You're still locking yourself away, and she's still on the outside looking in."

He left Kai there with those words, drifting toward the kitchen further inside the house.

Kai had watched as Tala left, and as he turned his gaze back toward Ellie, he noticed she was on her way back to him.

When she reached him, having not once looked up, she held out her hands. Cupped inside was one of the flowers of the plant she had been examining. She looked into his face.

"It fell off when I was brushing the snow off." She said softly; still holding her hands out as if held inside of them was an offering.

He looked from the purple petals up into her eyes. His eyes remained there for a while before either spoke.

"What do you want to do with it?" He asked gently.

Her hands were faltering slightly, shaking. He brought his own up to support hers. He felt the chill on her pale flesh.

"Come inside, Ellie. You're cold." Kai said, stepping backward, his hands still cupped under hers, which still held the flower.

She followed him inside, and he shut the door behind her, which meant his hands no longer touched hers.

She turned to look at him, her eyes were vibrant violet, but there was that emotion he had seen before in her eyes. He was striving to read it, but there were not enough clues; too little information.

"What is it that you want to know?" She asked, surprising him, though he quickly shoved that emotion aside.

He took a breath and then swallowed his uncertainty. "What is it that you are feeling?"

Shock crossed her features briefly; this was covered up just as quickly as he had. She studied him for a moment longer, and then turned away from him.

She gently laid the flower down on the counter beside her. Her shoulders drooped slightly, as if a great fatigue had come through her. She stayed this way for a moment before saying calmly, "I'm tired, Kai." She did not turn around and look at him. "I'm going to bed."

It was not late, just a little after 5 pm, but she left him there, with the flower on the counter.

She headed up to her room.

He stood there after she left, just staring at the flower on the counter. Eventually, he went over to it, looking more closely at the petals.

He did not touch it, because it looked to fragile; he was almost afraid to touch it- if he did, it might just fall apart.

He realized, after a moment of standing there wondering why that particular thought was familiar, that he thought the same thing about Ellie.

The next thought bothered him more; if she could read him as well as she claimed- was she reacting to that fear with avoidance of the entire problem?

-o-o-o-

Kai had trouble sleeping that night. He had been sitting in his room since he had told Tala he was going to bed, and that had been a few hours ago.

He guessed it was about midnight, or close to it, and he still felt unable to go to sleep.

He got up and went to the window for a moment, staring out into a dark sky. The moon was new and it made it near impossible to see outside.

He quickly bored of this view, and returned to the door of his room. He had just turned the handle when he heard someone walking around in the hall.

He slid the door open, trying to make certain that it made no sound, and peered out. He saw Ellie turn the corner and disappear.

He left his room, following her silently.

It did not take long for him to find her. It would have taken longer, but he heard a door shut, and knew it was the bathroom door.

He was not going to disturb her, but he heard water running, and the sound of a muffled sob. Then there was coughing.

He knocked on the door lightly, keeping one hand on the knob.

"Ellie?" He called out to her. There was no response. "Ellie, are you okay?" He asked. There was still no response. There were no sounds now, other than the running water.

He turned the handle, finding it unlocked, he opened the door.

"Ellie?" He asked while entering. He looked at where the girl sat in the bath tub. She was full dressed, but she was also completely under the water.

He stepped into the bathroom, completely confused.

"Ellie?" He asked again, though he was sure that she could not hear him.

For a few more seconds, in which he felt himself getting increasingly confused and worried, she remained there, under the water. Steam was rising out of it.

Finally, she rose out of the water.

Her entire body was shivering, her eyes were closed.

"Ellie?" He said softly.

Her eyes shot open, and she looked at him. Her body shook greatly.

"What are you doing?" He asked her directly, looking at the water in the bathtub, which was getting dangerously close to overfilling. "Is that hot water?" He noted the steam rising out of it.

He crossed the bathroom and shoved his hand into the water.

"Ouch!" He yelped, jerking his hand out and quickly shutting off the water. "Ellie? What are you doing?" He asked again, worried about trying to get her out of the water.

"Trying to make it stop." Her voice was soft and far away, her eyes were distant, as if she were not seeing him so much as seeing something far away.

"Ellie, I think you need to get out of there." He suggested softly, offering her a hand. She did not take it.

"Ellie!" He said louder, trying to get her attention. He was not angry, but she was scaring him a little. He reached out and touched her cheek. She did not really react to it.

Her arms were turning red, and her cheeks were already red.

He reached over and pulled the plug, watching as the water began to drain. It was not fast enough, he decided, so he reached in, sliding one hand under her knees and the other arm behind her back and pulled her up out of the water.

His clothing was soaked with the water.

He sat down with her on the floor, she was in his lap.

"El..." He began, but she interrupted him.

"Kai…" Her lower lip shook, then her entire body followed suit. She was staring into his face with wide eyes. "I… you weren't supposed to… I couldn't…" She was not crying, but there was pain in her eyes.

She stopped speaking and just stared at him, her hands travelling up to touch his chest. Her palms were flat against the now wet fabric.

"I'm cold…" She whispered.

"I'll bet you are. What did you put that on?" He asked, trying not to sound angry.

She shivered and looked away from him. He could tell that she was ashamed. She started to get up.

He rose with her. "Ellie…" He said softly, but she would not face him. Instead she tried to go past him. He stopped her with an arm around her middle.

"No." He said into her ear. His arm was tight enough to hold her still, but not enough to hurt her. She froze against him, her head turned slightly toward his mouth. "Let's get you into dry clothes." He was almost whispering into her ear. He did not want to hurt her ears by speaking too loud, but it was almost midnight as well, and it just seemed strange to speak loudly so late.

"I have dry clothes." She responded equally as soft.

Yet, he did not let go. "You aren't going back to your room tonight." He said into her ear.

He held her there for a long time, in which she did not reply. He reached up quietly and brushed her cheek with his free hand. When she did not flinch away, he let his other arm drop from her middle.

She was now standing there of her own free will, her back to Kai's front.

"Let's go get you into dry clothes." He said again, gently touching her side, and coming to stand at her side. He had one arm around her waist.

She nodded gently and walked with him back to his room. Neither worried about the water dripping off of them onto the floor.

When they had gotten to Kai's room, she stood next to him as he pulled clothes out of his closet.

He did not watch her as she changed out of her own sopping wet clothing and into dry clothes that he owned.

He changed when she did, neither watching the other.

When he had finished, he went to sit down on the bed, and Ellie came over a moment later.

She sat down right next to him. She was staring at her hands, which were held in a cupped format.

He touched her hands gently.

"Ellie… there isn't anything there." He told her, looking at the side of her face.

"It feels like it," She said sullenly, clutching her hands into fists and letting them release a moment later.

He nodded, "Yeah, it probably does."

Her hair was falling down and obstructing his view of her face. He reached up and brushed it behind her ear. "Ellie. You've done things you regret, and you're going to keep regretting them." He paused, and then took a deep breath. "You aren't the only one." Sometimes he spent a lot of times trying to shove the memories away. "The thing is learning to live with it all."

She looked over to him.

"I'm trying." She said softly.

He could see that she was still haunted by the memories.

A shiver went through her body. He reached out and hugged her to himself.

They sat there for a long time, looking at each other.

Ellie yawned, and she moved to cover her mouth.

"Tired?" He asked, trying to stifle his own yawn.

She nodded and shut her eyes.

Kai got up, and gently pulled at Ellie, which made her stand as well. He let her go long enough to fold down the covers. He looked at her. "Care to sleep like a wolf tonight?" He asked softly, meeting her violet eyes.

"Yes." She said, and he could clearly see the joy in her eyes, and it made a small smile cross his face.

Ellie crawled into Kai's bed first, with Kai following her a moment later. He remembered how they used to curl up like this, and even after three years, it was not that odd to do so again.

-o-o-o-

Ellie awoke to Kai's fingers gently sliding down her arm. She did not really want to move, but she figured she would have to at some point.

"You're awake." Kai stated simply, still running his fingers over her arm.

"Mmm-hmm." She said, stretching slightly, without actually moving the arm he was brushing.

A few moments later, she turned over carefully, making certain to not smack him with her arm or hit him with her elbow. She faced him quietly.

"Feel better?" He asked, looking into her eyes.

She smiled and nodded.

He reached up, and his hand paused just above her cheek. He stared into her eyes, searching for permission.

She blinked slowly, and her head gave a small nod before her eyes opened again.

He brushed his fingers down her jaw, sliding under her hair and against the side of her neck, along the back and side of her shoulder.

"Kai…" She whispered; her lips remaining slightly parted.

He raised his eyebrows briefly, almost asking 'yes' or 'what' without speaking.

"I still love you." She said, her eyes never leaving his. He could see it clearly now. That emotion that had flicked through her eyes before. It was fear and uncertainty.

She was afraid that he did not still love her.

"I love you." Kai said, his hand returning to her cheek, and gently brushing it.

He could clearly see the relief rush across her features. She buried her face into his chest, and he could feel her body shaking slightly.

Becoming confused between what he had seen and her sudden action, he pulled back, to discover that she was actually laughing.

"Ellie?" He asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

Her violet gaze moved up until it met his red eyes. She pulled her laughter under control and just smiled up at him.

He sat up in bed, looking down at Ellie. She watched him quietly, the smile never fading from her lips.

"And what is it that you are so happy about?" He asked, brushing her cheek gently with his hand.

"Mmm…" She raised her hand up and touched his cheek, her fingers moving against his flesh and then up through his hair. "I finally know what I wanted to know." She said.

She put gentle pressure on the back of his head. He followed the pressure downward, towards her. He braced himself with his elbows on the bed on either side of her.

He leaned his head down further, relishing in the feeling of his own lips against hers. Her hands slid down between them, and then along his back under his shirt.

"Am I interrupting?" Tala's voice cut through what they were doing, forcing Kai to jerk up and away from her, and Ellie's eyes to snap open.

Kai was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Ellie sat up, almost hiding behind him.

Kai glared at Tala. "What do you want?" He asked, slightly annoyed.

Ellie glanced at him from over Kai's shoulder, though the bottom half of her face was hidden from Tala behind Kai.

"Nothing really," Tala said, actually smirking at them, "Just seeing what you are doing." He looked at the clothes pooled on the floor, but noted that Kai was completely dressed, so he assumed Ellie was as well. His smirk never left as he looked up at them again. "But I can guess by your last position what you were doing." He winked and gave a laugh.

Kai blushed slightly, though Tala was not quite certain if it was embarrassment or anger that put that slight red into Kai's cheeks.

"Shall I leave you two to it then?" Tala asked, turning towards the door, though he was still looking at them.

When neither spoke, he walked out the door, taking his time and calling over his shoulder, "Well, you kids have fun then." Both heard his laugh as he left them there, the door still open.

Kai waited until he was certain that Tala was nowhere near the door, and then turned towards Ellie.

"I think he's going to be doing that a lot." He told her, as she peered up into his face. He fought the urge to push her back down on the bed.

As soon as the thought had crossed his mind- he supposed it must have gone across his face as well- she pushed him onto the bed. A playful smile crossed her face. She straddled his chest, her knees on either side of his chest, leaning up to hold his shoulders down with her hands. There was a light he had not seen in awhile as she pinned him to the bed, and a smile which showed her canine teeth, the one tooth's bottom part had been chipped off.

"Is it going to bother you?" She asked, staring into his eyes while her own took on a slightly feral look.

"Only if it bothers you," He responded, attempting to press himself upward. It was harder than it should have been and he just went with the pressure and relaxed down into the bed.

"Not at all." She whispered, brushing her lips lightly against his.

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That would be the slightly fixed version of this chapter. First time I had to do a 're-write' really, because I had to edit a bit of it... Nearly done with this story... just the one chapter left...


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